Meet Captain Dan An Interview

Southern Tides Magazine is pleased to welcome Captain Daniel Foulds to the crew! He’ll be taking over The Bitter End column (with Captain Gator’s blessing) as well as taking on an administrative role with the magazine. You’ll be seeing more of Dan, both in these pages and out and about in the coastal area, so we thought we’d give y’all a chance to get to know him. Welcome, Captain Dan!

Southern Tides: Please tell our readers a little about your background. How did a former Army guy get around to being a tour boat captain?

Dan Foulds: Yes, I’m a retired Army Aviator and former EMS helicopter pilot. I came to Savannah in 1989 as an instructor pilot and flight lead for 3rd Battalion 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. During that time I spent many great days on the river. I grew up on the water in Florida, on rivers, in the Keys and in several springs. I’ve been a water boy forever – had my first boat at five.

After retiring from the Army in 1998, I began a 17-year second career as a medevac pilot, and flew the LifeStar helicopter from Savannah’s Memorial Hospital for three of those years. I was also a traveling relief pilot all over America. About a dozen years ago, while sitting standby on 12-hour shifts, I started writing a blog at HelicopterEMS.com. It was initially for something to do, but after a friend and his team were killed in a HEMS crash due to pilot error, the focus of the blog became more about preventing that from happening. My blog post Hoisted On My Own Petard caught the eye of Elan Head, editor of Vertical911, and she invited me to write for them.

Four years ago, and after 30 years of flying, I decided to change gears and stop living out of a suitcase. I resigned my flying position and came home for good. I still needed something to get me off the couch so I asked Mike Neal, owner of Bull River Cruises, if I could crew on his boats. After a year he told me to get my master’s credential from Sea School, so I did. I’ve been captaining his boats for a couple of years now, and love taking people (especially kids) out on our creeks, rivers, and sounds. I’ve run a boat for Captain Gator, taking bands to and from Daufuskie, and I teach ladies boating basics for the BoatUS Women Making Waves program. I do that with Tommy McCarthy at Freedom Boat Club, to which I belong and love.

I’m also president of the local chapter of the auxiliary support arm of my Army regiment, The Night Stalker Association; we conduct events to demonstrate support for, and pride in, the service of soldiers in that unit. Night Stalkers Don’t Quit … So, I write, I teach, I support, and I drink too much. But that helps me think of things to write! I still have the HEMS blog, a boat blog, and a bar blog.

ST: A multi-tasker! How long have you been writing your SavannahBoating.com blog? What gave you the idea to start it?

DF: I’ve been doing that for a couple years. I figured eventually someone would see it and ask me to write for them. Boom! And thanks, Robert Hale, for making the connection to Southern Tides for me!

ST: Yes! Thank you, Robert! You’ve been very active in the community, raising funds for Randy and Sherri Davis of Davis Produce to help with Randy’s health crisis, and now working with Danny Merritt (Nine Line founder) on his bid for office. How does Southern Tides fit with your view of staying involved with the coastal community?

DF: Southern Tides fits in perfectly with where I want to be at this stage of my life, and what I want to be doing. It’s all about the water, and so am I. I also believe every citizen has an obligation to serve his or her community. I live what I preach.

Danny’s a personal friend, and I’m proud of what he did with Nine Line. He’s helped with two fundraiser events I put together. When he asked for my help, I said, “You know Buddy Carter is doing a good job, right?” His answer made sense. “Every seat in congress should be contested. Competition is good.”

I also believe turnover in congress is good. We don’t need career politicians who become like royalty. That’s the Senate. Congress is supposed to be the “working class” arm of government. Regular folk. I think folks should go, do a term or two, work their butts off for America, then go back home and resume their careers and lives. The current system is BROKEN. Also, after being at war since 2002, I feel that the majority of our elected representatives should have military backgrounds. They send our kids to risk death – they should have had a walk in those shoes.

ST: Spoken like a patriot! Maybe you should run for office! But I’m going to be selfish and ask you to stay with Southern Tides. We’ve talked about future goals for the magazine – a marine expo, some stand-alone publications, a website, more distribution coverage. How do you see yourself fitting in to the Southern Tides family?

DF: I have to admit I’m somewhat stunned at the complexity and depth of the project you’ve undertaken with this magazine. I'm not sure I can do half of what you do. Kudos to you! I also know that every single step I take is one you don’t have to. I’ll see how many steps I can take!

ST: From the sound of it, you're used to juggling as many plates as I am, so I'm sure you're going to do just fine!

After nearly four years of Captain Gator writing The Bitter End column, we were sorry to see him step back. But the timing seems almost serendipitous that you landed on my radar at almost exactly the same time. What types of stories do you see yourself telling in The Bitter End?

DF: I’m looking forward to writing stories about my trips on the river with families and friends – both commercial and personal. Stories about the history and connections of this place. Stories about how we got to where we are today in the most beautiful place on earth. And of course, bits about safety, human factors, and staying alive.

ST: Sounds like you’re going to be a great fit, Dan, and we’re thrilled to have you join us.

DF: I'm looking forward to it!